Finding time to teach your kids about safety
Finding time to teach your kids about safety may not be as big of a challange as you think. As the founder of “Screamin’ Kids” you may invision my kids are running safety drills day in and day out. Truth be known thats just not the case. Actually, our days probably run like many of yours…
…running to school, having breakfast in the car, catching a snack after school on the way to the latest sports practice, rushing to the grocery store, doing homework, eating dinner and then preparing to do it all over again the next day.
So as you see, the overall picture probably looks somewhat like yours.
Now that I have shown you the overall picture, lets take a closer look as you may see a few subtle differences. In these differences may lie the divider between a child that is unknowingly a target for an abductor or sex offender, verses a child that is aware of the red flags and knows how to blow the whistle on these preditors.
On the way to school, I remind my son of who will be picking him up and that he is not to go with anyone else. After football practice, I may ask my son on occasion, “have any coaches asked you to keep any secrets? ” or “Did you remain with the team today or did the coach spend any time alone with you?” My son understands from previous conversations that adults don’t ask kids to keep secrets from their parents and that he should not be asked to go anywhere alone with the coach unless I am aware of the situation.
My daughter at times will walk to work, so I remind her to take a different route from the one she may have taken the days before and I confirm with her which route she will take. My daughter knows that its important not to take the same route day after day as a predator wanting to access her could establish her pattern and use that to pursue a plan of abducting and/or violating her.
Before leaving any of my kids at school or extra curricular activities, I might ask them to give me their best “scream”. My kids really like to practice their scream, which they understand can be used as an alarm should anyone try to lure them away or threaten them. Also, all three of my kids have a cell phone which allows me to call and check on them as I please. For some, having cell phones may be a financial burdon, however, my kids join in on my family plan for about $10.00 a month. If you (the parent) have a cell phone, I suggest inquiring to your provider the cost of adding your kids and if its within your budget you may want to consider it.
So you see, these little nuggets of safety, along with many more, can be popped into the hello’s and goodbye’s throughout the day. Some children have an ability to be attentive for long lectures of safety but if your kids are anything like mine, these ideas need to be just a part of life and kept simple. By the way, to my youngest, I will often pose the questions as if I assume it has been done, for instance I might say;
“How much time did you spend alone with your coach?”
Once in awhile, posing my question like this prevents my son from having to admit something to me that he may have been told should be kept between him and a perpetrator. I know that my son may have a harder time — breaking the news — of being alone with the coach, as opposed to just giving some detail about a situation that I seem to already know about due to how I stated my question.
I strongly encourage all of you to find the time to teach your kids about safety.
Finding time to teach your kids about safety may save you the misfortune of having to — try and find your kids.
